


this house doesn't burn down slowly

by becauseimclever



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pack, derek and pain otp, grumpy!Derek, stiles sighs a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 12:17:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/849481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becauseimclever/pseuds/becauseimclever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek's rebuilding the house but won't let the pack help.</p>
<p>(or the one where Stiles sighs a lot)</p>
            </blockquote>





	this house doesn't burn down slowly

**Author's Note:**

> set during s2 just never got around to posting it super duper sorry

Derek's rebuilding the house.  
Stiles discovers this when he shows up one afternoon after school and he sees half of what used to be the kitchen knocked to the ground. At first he's scared, thinking there's been a fight. But the alphas had left with no trouble last year and everything was seemingly calm.  
He waits for Derek to come out, but after ten minutes, he gives up.  
He leaves. 

He makes the mistake of calling Scott afterwards and Scott of course tells Allison who tells Lydia who tells Jackson who, from his now permanent residence in London, calls Danny to tell him, who tells Isaac (never saw that friendship coming and still doesn't understand it) who tells Boyd who tells Erica.  
It's like another fucking teen movie.

Erica, impulsive as ever, goes to see him; interrogates Derek and drags answers out of him because she's nothing but curiously pushy. And annoying. Which is why she shows up at Stiles’ house, covered in leaves and twigs and possibly blood and Stiles blinks. And blinks again.  
"Um,” he says.  
"I was just trying to help," she pouts.  
And she does look genuine in that respect. Stiles knows that she wanted gossip and to get a rise out of her alpha, but more comfort and solidity from Derek truly. 

Stiles sighs. 

Apparently, the chain reaction begins again because Boyd tells them at lunch he went to Derek's to "help" when Derek threw a screwdriver at him. 

Stiles thinks these wolves need to re-examine their memories on their alpha’s tendency toward violence. 

Isaac had tried in the morning, too. He arrived and Stiles just knew he used the puppy eyes on Derek because he had seemingly no injuries, dents, holes, blood and/or questionable substances on his body.

"I told him that it was looking good but maybe he should get our help or something. Maybe a professional," Isaac said morosely. "He growled and told me not to come back and stalked back in the house." 

Stiles firmly believes if there had been a door to the house, Derek would have slammed it shut in his face. 

That night he receives a call from Danny saying that he went to Derek to update him on Jackson but Derek was standing on something resembling a porch wearing nothing but low slung jeans and Danny blinked from his parked car, sighed, and left. "I can't handle that, Stiles. He knew too. He knew that body was the biggest weapon of all," Danny whined.

Just as he was getting ready for bed, Jackson called and told Stiles, "Get your fucking wolf boytoy under control, Stilinski. I called to tell him to check in more and he growled, told me to 'fuck off' and hung up on me. ME. For Christ’s sake."

Stiles hung up on him. 

Stiles figured that was the end of it because surely Lydia had been smart enough not to contact Derek in anyway shape or form.  
Yet he walked into lunch to see her absolutely seething. 

She looks at him and says, "No,” flatly.  
Eventually he wheedles it out of her and she says, "I just told him I knew a good contractor and I know all the good discounts in IKEA and he said 'for fucks sake NO' and I wouldn't leave," indignantly because it's Lydia, hello,"He looked at me like I pissed in his Wheaties and gritted his teeth saying he didn't need IKEA, which, hello, no."

Stiles sighed.  
"Jackson called by the way. From what I could gather, he's going to rip your lungs from your toes which is not at _all_ creative. "

Stiles sighs again. 

 

Next week he's trying to decide whether organic apples were really worth the extra two dollars when he hears someone clear their throat. 

He turns (and flails and may squeak a little) when he sees Chris Argent and his daughter behind him, both looking sheepish. 

"Stiles," he greets and he really shouldn’t be allowed to be that disturbingly attractive after he tried killing Stiles’ best friend. 

"Uh yeah hi. Um. Can I help you guys?" After things had been resolved when the alpha pack left, Argent formed a tentative, unsure alliance with the Hale pack. He can’t be sure, but Stiles is 80% positive Chris only came around because of Peter and something to do with whipped cream. Which he tried desperately to erase from his mind. Also Allison probably upped the teenage angst.

But that still doesn't explain their shy glances to him right now. 

"Hi Stiles," Allison says eagerly.  
"Stiles we wanted to talk to you. About Derek."

"Oh god don't tell me this is about his house," really haven't these people learned anything. 

"I'm sorry okay it's just Lydia was really upset and Dad just offered him help with the moving and could call Deaton for protection charms or something," Allison looked utterly miserable. 

Stiles sighed.  
"The alliance is still okay though, right? I mean he didn't hurt anyone?"

Chris looked disappointed when he replied, “No one got hurt. He just sighed and left."  
"He looked kind of sad, Stiles," Allison said like she just lost her dog. Which, heh, irony.  
He sighs again just for effect. He’s thinking about enrolling in Derek's school of dramatically sighing.

He puts the apples back and leaves the store. 

He's playing Assassin's Creed III when Scott falls, literally falls, from the window into his room.  
"Dude. I'm like this close to putting mountain ash on my window sill ok.” 

Scott gasps out, "But then you'd never see Derek in your room."

Stiles glares at him. "For someone so dumb you need to stop making such witty comments. Now tell me why you’re all choking and bloody." Stiles is sad that that has become a regular phrase. 

"Derek doesn't want help dude. Like. Really. I thought I would try and like, I don't know, bond because he's been trying to but he totally went all hulk on me," and really if Scott were any closer to a dog, he'd have his tail tucked between his legs and ears flattened. 

Stiles looks at him.  
"OH MY GOD"  
And throws his controller at Scott's head. 

The next day at school, Stiles looks at his lunch table and decides he needs to talk.  
"You need to stop visiting Derek.”  
He's met with incredulous and confused stares. Well, one bored one from Lydia. 

"He's hurting and you guys need to realize this okay. I thought you wolves could sense emotions." 

"We can but when has Derek ever shown emotion," Erica sneers, but looking minutely concerned.

"Oh my God it's the anniversary of the fire in three days,” Stiles tries not to strangle them all, "So yeah, he's hurting, he's fucking broken and I'm sure he appreciates what you're trying to do but he really can't talk. He can't comfort anyone or smile because he _lost everyone_ and just give him some space _please_ ," he finishes on a somewhat cracked note because it hits home; it always does when he thinks about what Derek has to go through every year. Every Christmas, every birthday, every mother’s day. He knows. 

Which is why he ditches school and slams the car door when he gets to the Hale house. 

It looks good, if he's honest. It looks new and it looks like hope and like future. It looks like home. 

He knows Derek knows he's here so he walks in, a lot little unsure and finds Derek drilling something in the kitchen. 

He sits on the dusty floor without saying a word and watches. Watches Derek move, watch his shoulders tense and relax eventually, he watches the way Derek moves to sit beside him, knees slightly brushing and together they examine the wall, now holding a single cabinet. 

Derek sighs and says, "Thanks," so softly that Stiles was actually proud of his hearing. 

He leans more into Derek's weight, crushing his fingers with his own and sighs.

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimers and blah blah blah


End file.
